i don’t want to be a different gender, but i also don’t want to continue being my current gender (more like the gender i was assigned, i’m still closeted). i want to be just...me, i guess. i don’t want to be a girl or a boy. just me. i want to be treated fairly regardless of my gender. i want to be able to live my life the way i want to regardless of my gender. i want to be given the same opportunities as everybody else regardless of my gender. but most of all, i want to be able love myself regardless of my gender.

i’m AFAB (assigned female at birth), and most people, or i guess, all people assume that i’m a girl, and i don’t blame then. i present feminine because masculine looks and outfits just don’t fit me. i’d love to present masculine, but it just doesn’t look good on me, so i just stick with presenting feminine. and because of that, it makes sense that i get called “lady”, “ma’am”, “miss”, and have people use she/her pronouns on me. but that doesn’t mean i’m ok with it. i’m non-binary and use they/them pronouns, so hearing things like that being used on me makes me dysphoric and overall, just awful.

i used to think that i wanted to be a boy then. if i didn’t want to be a girl, then a boy must be it. but after a lot of thinking and crying, i realized that i didn’t want to be a boy. i didn’t want to be either. i don’t want a gender. i wanted to be me, just a person. i guess that’s why the term non-binary just felt right. because it was me, it was who i am. me. i’m me, regardless of what my gender is or what i choose to identify as, and i want the world to be ok with that.

of course, the world won’t be. not the whole world, just some. people will tell me that my pronouns aren’t “gramatically correct” and that being non-binary isn’t a real thing. but there will also be people supporting me no matter what, validating me and making sure that i never feel ashamed of who i am, and i’m glad that there’s people in my life like that. i hope everybody gets the chance to meet people like that. those people care about and love me for who i am, regardless of my gender, and i hope to get to that point some day.

like the title says, gender is stupid. it’s a social construct that does more harm than good. i'm not sure if it even does any good. who cares if men want to wear dresses or paint their nails? doesn’t make them any less of a man. if women want to wear suits and look masculine and not dainty at all, let them be, they’re still women. at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself:

“are they hurting me, others, or theirselves?”

if the answer is no, then move on. it’s their life, let them live it. if the answer is yes, it’s probably not because of what they’re wearing. if it is, you’re either dramatic, or their beautiful and stunning looks are killing you /half-joking (this a dialogue tag for those who don’t know, usually looks like -> /hj).

that was a rant and a little off topic, but still needs to be said. stop dictating other people’s lives.

so i guess what i’m trying to say is, gender just doesn’t do it for me. i don’t want to be the gender i was assigned as, and i also don’t want to be a differnt gender. why should i have to be put into this little box and have it define me for the rest of my life? that's not who i am or who i want to be. i’m me, a person. not a girl or a boy, me. i’m me, and that’s good enough for me.

Fight Procrastination Day

Read A Book Day

Rosh Hashanah Day

National Coffee Ice Cream Day

Today being Labor Day, give your support to all who have labored over the course of their lives to make it so we have those things we need in our own. With that said, I turn to three.

Fight Procrastination Day

Yesterday it was cool to procrastinate. My what a difference a day makes.

To many people, procrastination is a way of life. The more difficult the action or decision, the easier it is to join the league of procrastinators. As a procrastinator, you are in very good company. You can even become a card carrying member of a Procrastinator's club.

Today is a day to fight procrastination. Make a decision. Take action. Do it now. Do it today. It may be hard to do. But you will be glad you did.

"Never put of until tomorrow, what you can do today!"—Mark Twain

My brother asked me "What does procrastination mean?" I said "I'll tell you tomorrow.”

Read A Book Day

Take time out of your busy life, and relax with a good book. Cozy up on a chair, indoors or out. It doesn't matter where you read that book, as long as you can do so in a comfortable manner. If you doze off along the way, no one will know unless you tell someone.

Reading is a great lifetime hobby. It offers so many positive attributes. It's relaxing and therapeutic. It's educational. It’s entertaining. And, a whole lot of other good things, too. Read your favorite author or someone new

If you have young children, or elderly people in your home, take the time to read a book to them today. It is a wonderful time to bond with them and it creates pleasant, lasting memories.

"With the past, I have nothing to do, nor with the future.

I live now."—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rosh Hashanah Day

Begins at sundown on September 6, 2021; September 25, 2022; September 15, 2023; October 2, 2024; September 22, 2025; September 11, 2026; October 1, 2027. As you can see from this, there is no same starting date for this holiday as it varies.

Important Note: Many Jewish holidays begin at sunset. Some internet websites record these holiday on the first full day, while others sites state the date when it begins at sunset.

Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. In celebrating the New Year, Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of the world. It is also one of the holiest days of the Jewish year.

Did you know that Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are the only Jewish holidays that do not have roots in a historical religious event.

Why do Jewish mothers make great parole officers? They never let anyone finish a sentence.

More Strange Holidays Coming!

I used to have this friend that I honestly should’ve stopped being friends with a while ago. I’m gonna leave her unnamed since as much as I hate her, I don’t want to use her real name, so I’ll use C since that’s her first initial. C was...something, to say the least. I wanna give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she knows better now, but does she really? I don’t know, I haven’t talked to her in ages and I don’t want to. The pain she caused me is immeasurable, and it still haunts me to this day.

Honestly, she wasn’t that good of a friend, and a lot of times, the stuff she said to me hurt, but I had such a positive image of her and low one of myself that I brushed it off, saying that my feelings didn’t matter. She’d call me fat, ugly, and all kinds of things, and it still affects my self-image to this day. Whenever I talked about wanting to try out for basketball since I loved playing it, C would always tell me how “bad” I was and how I wouldn’t make the team. I never tried out because of that. Turns out she didn’t make the team when she tried out, so who’s really the “bad” one here?

I used to have a crush on this guy- back when I was still straight -and she’d always put me down for liking him, saying he was ugly and not all that. I would agree with her because I was so worried she was going to judge me. That wasn’t that bad, but one day, when I was out sick, she told him I liked him. She played it off as a joke, saying that it wasn’t a big deal. It might not have been to her, but it was to me. I was sitting in the car while my parents were working, close to tears. I trusted her, I really did. Guess I shouldn’t have.

Guess I didn’t learn from my mistakes because when I had my first girl crush, I told her. It was one of her best friends. The girl I liked was a good friend of mine as well, but I wasn’t as close to her as C was. I was on Facetime with her when I told her. I told her who I liked, and she laughed in my face. She laughed in my face. C then proceeded to tell me that she wouldn’t tell her, and again, I trusted her. God, I’m an idiot.

You probably think that she told her, and you’d be right, but something else happened before that, and it hurt me more than C telling the girl I liked her. A week passed after I told C I liked her, and she texted me, telling me to either stop liking her because she was uncomfortable with it, or lose her as a friend. She’s an awful person, but I still had a good image of her. I didn’t want to lose her. So I lied. I told her I would stop liking her so that we could stay friends. I cried myself to sleep that night.

As I said before, C told her. She told her the day I told her. And I didn’t find out til a month later from a friend. I was riding the bus home when he texted me. I was in shambles. I had to hold my tears in because I wasn’t home yet. The second I was, I ran to my room and cried. I felt like shit. That was the moment I finally realized how much I dreaded being her friend. That was the moment I realized that C wasn’t a good friend. That was the moment I realized that that image of her in my mind wasn’t real.

I tried to distance myself from her. I’m not a confrontational person, and I was afraid of her spilling all my secrets, so I never really did anything besides avoid her and not answer her texts. Didn’t work because she still talked to me, texted me, and called me. I hated every second of pretending that we were still friends. Honestly, I’m surprised that I didn’t realize what a shitty friend she was earlier. Not only did C do all of the things I mentioned above, she also talked shit about my friends, never cared about what I had to say, would talk shit about me behind my back and even let her friends talk shit about me right in front of me, told people my secrets and played it off as a “funny” joke- also right in front of me -, made me do things I was uncomfortable with (nothing sexual, just “favors” that were really just her begging me to do something for her even when I had repeatedly told her no because they made me uncomfortable), and she tried stealing from me too. But I guess none of that mattered because she was still a good person in my eyes.

C’s about a 5 minute drive from my house, and most of the places I go pass by her house. Every time I do, I always look away. It hurts. Sometimes my parents will bring it up, and I have to pretend that we’re still good friends. Like I said before, I wanna give her the benefit of the doubt and trust that she knows better now, but how am I supposed to trust her after all this? Honestly, if she came up to me today and apologized for everything she’s done to me, I don’t know if I could forgive her.

People always say that in order to move on, you have to forgive and forget. But what if I don’t want to? I don’t want to forgive her when she’s done nothing but give me immense trust issues and added onto my already poor self-esteem. I don’t want to forget in case I run into another “C” in my life. Hell, I can’t even move on, all the hurt she caused me still affects me dearly, and I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to move on. I want to someday, but when I do, I won’t be forgiving or forgetting her for all she’s done to me. I know that people learn and grow and it’s immature of me to hold a grudge, but I don’t care. She’s hurt me more than you could ever imagine. You don’t have to forgive and forget to move on. If you want to, be my guest. But I won’t be yours.

Dear C,

Fuck you for everything you’ve done to me. Don’t contact me or I’ll call my lawyer. Kidding, I don’t have a lawyer, but don’t talk to me or I might just beat a bitch up <3

Sincerely, someone you clearly never gave a fuck about.

Bubble wrap generally has dozens and dozens of raised bubbles to pop but ... instead of popping them, as some people would do to relieve stress (which I'll add is another good use for bubble wrap).

Here is my idea in reusing bubble wrap. And you only need two different colored marking pens, one pen/pencil and sheet of paper to keep score.

The game itself isn't new and has been around forever, and you may know it better as "Connect the Dots" Only here, instead of dots, connect every four bubbles into a square. Each square is worth 5 points. When you reach 50 points, then each square is worth ten points. When you reach 100 ponts, each square is worth 25 points.

A square must be done in one color only. If you look closely at the picture, you can see where I made a freeble attempt to draw a square to cconnect four bubbles in red.

The object of course is to keep your opponent from creating a square and you can block someone by using your colored pen in doing so.

This can be a lot of fun, and somewhere along the way, you'll have a few laughs.

National Relaxation Day

National Leathercrafting Day

Feast of the Assumption Of Mary

I could get used to short days if they didn’t go up and down so much.

National Leathercrafting Day

There is a rich heritage, artistry, and skill of leathercrafting are honored August 15 on National Leathercrafting Day.

The versatility of leather has proven to be artistic and utilitarian since ancient times. In the hands of a skilled craftsperson, leather can be transformed into hard-working saddles, stylish boots, supple clothing, or beautiful artwork. Specialty techniques and designs perfected over time have given mankind a durable material that has never gone out of style.

National Leathercraft Day recognizes the dedication and creativity of leather workers and the passion that comes alive in their inspired designs and time-honored traditions.

As a profession or a hobby, create something that will last a lifetime.

National Relaxation Day

The stresses, the hustle and bustle seemingly consumes us, every day of the year. Even Sundays are no longer days of rest and relaxation. There never seems to be a day to just kick back and relax. For those us with a hectic lifestyle, Relaxation Day is a day to look forward to. It provides a break from the madness of your busy work and personal schedule. Todays is the day to enjoy either doing absolutely nothing, or partaking in your favorite relaxation activity.

Avoiding stressful activities today is the rule. For example, if golf is your favorite hobby, yet it can cause you stress, then make plans to play golf another day. Spending the day in a hammock is a far more appropriate activity.

Top Ten ideas to enjoy on Relaxation Day:

Do nothing today

Go to a Spa

Go fishing

Play a round of golf (caution: not always relaxing)

Lounge around in a hammock

Take a bubble bath

Spend the day at the beach

Go to the movies

Do a little gardening (no heavy duty work, though)

Have a picnic in the park

Love simply, laugh often, wine a lot.

Feast of the Assumption Of Mary

On this day, we celebrate the assumption of Mary, mother of Jesus, into heaven. At the end of her life, Mary's body and soul were assumed into heavenly glory. This is one of the oldest holy days of the Christian church.

Whether Mary had a physical death was not known. The New Testament has no writings about Mary's death or assumption. Nor is there any reference in any other church writings.

The teaching that 'at the end of her earthly course, Mary was assumed into heavenly glory, body and soul' was dogmatically defined by Pius XII in 1950 in Munificentissimus Deus (the apostolic constitution).

The Feast of the Assumption is a holy day of obligation in the Christian church.

More Strange Holidays Coming!

Today is a day that lasts on the skin of my memories,

where the sun doesn't set until past nine and blueberry

popsicles leave stains on our flowery smocks.

Better, though, are days that fly by,

when we're too busy laughing to count the minutes

so in a blink it's bedtime, days gone, years gone.

Soon, though, both long days and short days will be gone,

burned from my mind, buried under memories,

under the hours, the seconds, the minutes.

I'll no longer remember the taste of blueberry

cobbler and vanilla ice cream churned by

my grandmother in her peach-colored smocks.

Faded and moth-eaten, stored away are my pretty smocks.

The girl who once wore them is gone,

faded like the dresses, until she was replaced by

some wrinkled old woman with misplaced memories.

But she did make the meanest blueberry

pie, slices gobled by grandchildren in minutes.

Today is a day that will be gone in minutes,

time fraying like the threads in my worn smocks,

molding like an old, forgotten blueberry,

and soon it will all just be gone.

A vanishing act, even from my memories.

I wish I could remember how these days go by.

Time ticks away and my life goes by.

Hours stay with me but lost are the minutes.

Black splotches like drunken stains on my memories,

like the stains on my old pretty smocks.

Does anyone remember these moments or are they gone?

Gobbled up like the fresh ripe blueberry.

My wrinkled hands are stained with a splotch of blueberry,

angry violet lines on the palm, remnants of a reading by

a fortune-teller. But what can she say when my life is gone?

There are no more days, no more hours, no more minutes.

The pink thread has unraveled from my very best smocks.

There will be no more memories.

I find I am gone, and the discovery tastes like a sour blueberry.

Life has unwound my memories, until all days have gone by.

All hours, seconds, minutes, and all that are left are my pretty smocks.

altered title from - “betty” by Taylor Swift

“Hey!” a voice from beyond shouted. I know that voice! I turned to the direction of the voice, and my heart skipped a beat. 

In a black off-the-shoulder top with slightly puffy sleeves that went to her elbow and a short, light pink skirt with a bow wrapped around your waist the same color as your skirt, she looked absolutely stunning, ethereal, even. A bracelet with many charms and a gold, layered necklace with stars went with her outfit perfectly as did her black converse and black chain purse. Cheeks colored red and hotter than the summer heat, I watched as she walked over with that lovely-as-ever smile of hers, waving enthusiastically at me. As flustered as I am, I managed to wave back with a feeble smile. Fuck, I’m so gay.

“Sorry,” she apologized, rubbing the back of her neck, “were you waiting long?” 

“N-no, not at all!” I waved it off, my cheeks still warm. 

“Your face is really red,” she commented, putting her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. “Are you feeling alright?” 

Backing away immediately, I felt my cheeks get even hotter. “Y-yeah, I’m fine, it’s just…”

“Hm?”

Staring at the ground, I rubbed my arm, peeking over at her and looking away almost immediately. “You...look...really...pretty…”

“O-oh…” Fuck, that’s not a good reaction, now is it? I took my eyes off the ground and onto her, afraid to see how she reacted. 

Flustered and probably as red as me, she clutched the chain of her purse, staring at the ground. Huh, seems like it was a good reaction.

“Thanks,” she whispered out, meeting my gaze, causing her to look away and blush even more. “You look really pretty, too.”

“Thanks,” I replied, feeling less nervous than before. 

“You’re welcome.”

Silence took over, and seeing as neither of us knew what to say next, I decided to change the topic, pointing to the entrance of the amusement park. “Why don’t we head on in? Summer isn’t very long, ya know.”

She nodded, her cheeks a light pink tint. “Ok!” 

With a peppy smile as well as a pep in her step, she went ahead of me, practically oozing excitement. Calling her pretty was a huge understatement, she’s the personification of perfection. 

“Two wristbands, please!” she chirped, holding up a ‘two’ with her fingers. The employee handed us our wristbands after she handed our money to them. 

“Enjoy the park,” he said with a lifeless tone after putting on our bands for us. Jeez, he must be fun at parties. Then again, he’s working in this summer heat and getting paid minimum wage, so I guess I can’t blame him for being so...dead, for lack of a better word. 

“Alright, let’s get going!” she cheered, grabbing my hand and dragging me around the fair. Cheeks painted crimson, I tried to ignore the fact that her hand was in mine, but it was practically impossible. It wasn’t the first time this has happened before, but that didn’t stop me from internally panicking every time. Her touch will always be my favorite, and call me selfish, but I want to be the only one who will ever feel it. 

“Oh, let’s ride that!” she pointed at a roller coaster that ran through the park. Seeing all those loops already made me nauseous. 

“Um…” I wanna say no since I know that I’m most definitely gonna puke if I go on it, but…

Beaming like a little kid seeing an ice cream truck, sparkles adorned those beautifully breathtaking eyes of hers as her dumb, little smile- that I really shouldn’t be finding this cute -gave me butterflies. God, why are you so damn adorable?!

“Fine,” I sighed out, feeling defeated. I can’t ever say no to her, now can I?

“Yay!” she shouted with joy, grabbing hold of my wrist and dragging me towards the line. 

I’m probably gonna hate myself after this, but if that meant getting to see her smile for a while longer, then I’d happily pay the price every time. 

.

.

.

God damnit, I feel like death. The second I stepped out of the ride, my legs turned into jelly as I felt my lunch coming back up. I rushed to a trash can as best as my wobbly legs could take me and vomited my PB & J sandwich up. Fuck, I really do hate myself for this. 

“Oh my god, are you ok?!” she frantically asked, her hand rubbing my back in an attempt to soothe me. It didn’t really help since I still felt like shit, but I appreciate the sentiment.

“Y-yeah, I’m f-fine, t-thanks for asking,” I somehow managed to get out, still recovering from the post-throw up. 

“Maybe we should do something else,” she suggested, handing me a napkin to wipe off the bits of vomit on my face, “ya know, until you’ve recovered from this ride.”

“I have to ride more?!” I exclaimed, feeling nauseous once more.

“Oh, do you not want to?” Her mood dropped, her lips curving into a frown. Fuck.

“Uh, n-no, t-that’s not what I meant, we can totally go on more later!” 

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!” I’m lying through my fucking teeth right now because I’m an idiot in love. 

“Ok!” Her mood was instantly lifted, her frown turning upside down. I blushed at her smile once more. Yeah, I’m an idiot in love; but if being in love with her meant being an idiot, then call me the stupidest person in the world, she’s worth it. 

“Wanna play some games?” she asked, pointing at some stands, crowds covering what the games were even about.

“Sure,” I replied, feeling a lot better. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”

“As if I would ever lose to you,” she scoffed, crossing her arms with a cocky grin. “If anybody’s getting their ass kicked here, it’s you.”

“Oh, you’re on! Whoever gets ten wins wins?”

She nodded, still smirking as cocky as ever. “Loser buys lunch.”

“Deal!” 

We ran at full speed to the stands, stopping at a balloon-popping game. Giving the employee 6 bucks for 5 darts each, she went first.

“Don’t mess up! Not only will your money be on the line, your pride will be as well!” I taunted with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, shut up!” she yelled back before throwing her first dart, missing the balloon she was aiming for.

“Yes!” I shouted with triumph after seeing my taunting had worked. 

“I still have four more darts, I can still beat you!” She pouted, stomping her foot like a little kid throwing a tantrum.

“Yeah, yeah, put your money where your mouth is.” 

Her score was 3 out of 5, earning a small plush bear as a prize. 

“Aw, this is so cute!” she gushed, giving it a light squeeze. 

“We should probably get a locker for the things we might win,” I suggested, pointing in the direction of where the lockers were. 

“Sure, we can get one after this.”

“Alright.” I picked up my darts and began to aim. “My turn now!”

Hitting all the balloons perfectly, I got a perfect score, 5 out of 5!

“Hah, in your face!” I stuck my tongue out immaturely, earning a huff from her and a large stuffed bunny as a prize. 

“Whatever,” she grumbled. “Come on, let’s get a locker.” 

“Alright.” I chuckled at how she changed the topic almost instantly to avoid embarrassment. It was kind of cute...Oh, who am I kidding, everything she does is cute.

Once we got our locker set up, we went back to our little competition. 

“Ok, what’s next?” I asked, scanning the area for the next game.

“How about that one?” She proposed, pointing at one of those water gun games where you aim the little target to get your duck or boat or whatever to the top. I wonder what those are actually called…

“Sure.” I shrugged, not really caring what we were going to play next. I was gonna enjoy it anyway, especially since I’m with her. 

We made our way to the stand and stood by for a couple minutes, patiently waiting for our turn. When it was finally our turn, we paid the amount needed and immediately got down to business.

“You’re going down this time,” she declared, determination coursing through her veins. 

“Yeah, sure I will.” I snickered, waiting for the ‘GO’ signal.

The light flashed green, and the game was on. Shooting directly at the target, I switched between looking at my duck and the center, making sure that I was in the lead. But before I knew it, I heard a ding-ding-ding sound, insinuating that there was a winner; and that winner wasn’t me. 

“I told you I was gonna win this time!” She stuck her tongue out at me this time, pulling her eyelid down for more of a teasing effect. If I wasn’t so hopelessly in love with her, I might’ve actually gotten upset. 

Continuing our little game, we went from stand to stand to stand until one of us reigned victorious. We were at the last game, tied, neck to neck. Whoever won this one would be declared the victor, the winner, the person who doesn’t have to buy lunch. And seeing as my paycheck wasn’t coming anytime soon, I really didn’t want to pay.

The last game was basketball, and truth be told, I’m a little nervous. She’s a basketball prodigy, so she had a very high chance of winning. And seeing as she wasn’t even the slightest bit worried, it seemed like she knew that too. 

As soon as we were given the ‘GO’ signal, we began shooting basketballs; or at least she was, I was just chucking them up in hopes that at least a few of them would make it in. After a minute had passed, I compared my score to hers, and holy shit, I was losing miserably. There was only 30 seconds left on the clock, I’m never gonna be able to catch up to her! 

The timer went off, and just like I had predicted, she won, and I had lost.

“Woohoo!” she cheered, jumping up in the air. “I won! In your face!”

I sighed. “Congrats, I guess…” My wallet is gonna fucking kill me. 

“How’s it feel to be a loser?” she taunted and teased from all angles. “Guess I was right, your ass is the only one being kicked today! And who was it kicked by?”

With both hands on her hip, she gave me a cocky stare, expecting me to answer her question that had only one obvious answer. 

“You…” I grumbled, crossing my arms with a frown. 

“That’s right! I won, and you lost!” she gloated with a fist pump and toothy grin. 

Despite losing, I didn’t feel upset, not in the slightest. In fact, I felt like I was the one who won. Seeing her so happy brought a slight tingle to my chest as well as a cotton-candy-pink hue to my cheeks. Looking away from her little celebration, I covered the red of my cheeks with my hand, my heart racing and cheeks warming. I glanced back at her, her smile rivaling the sun and laugh sounding like music to my ears- call me cliche, but it was the truth. I want nothing more in life than to be able to hold her in my arms and call her mine. The idea of waking up next to her each and every morning and watching the slight rise and fall of her chest brings a smile to my face, and I pray every night that it comes true. Running my hands through that silky, smooth bronze hair of hers, feeling her lips slot into mine perfectly like a missing piece of a puzzle and having every corner of my house littered with the scent of her replays in my mind every night before I go to bed, hoping that when I wake up, it becomes my reality. 

“Hello? You there?” Snapping back into reality, I found her standing right in front of me, waving her hand in my face. 

“O-oh, sorry,” I apologized, taken aback by how close she was. 

“It’s fine, you were kinda just spacing out with a lovesick look.”

“O-oh, really?” I’m not actually that obvious, right?

“Whoever you’re thinking about must be pretty darn amazing for you to not hear me shouting your name multiple times.” For a split second, I could’ve sworn I saw her lips curl into a slight frown…

“Yeah...they are.” I smiled softly to myself as an image of her popped up in my mind.

“They must be a real lucky guy to have someone like you falling head over heels in love with him,” she joked with a cheeky grin. I can’t place my finger on it, but something about her smile seemed...sad. 

“Uh, it’s not a guy,” I corrected, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s...actually a girl.”

“O-oh, is that so?” 

“Yeah…” Maybe I’m just imagining it, but she seemed happy when she heard me say that it wasn’t a boy…

“Anyway, let’s go get lunch!” 

“Alright. Any specific kind of food you want?” I asked, holding my wallet up. “It’s my treat after all.” 

She giggled at the little reminder, then hummed, followed by a shrug. “Not really, I’m kinda just in the mood for any food. Besides, it’s amusement park food, I doubt there’s going to be anything besides hot dogs and hamburgers.”

“Eh, true. Then let’s get going,” I said, heading towards where the food stands were bunched together with her trailing behind me.

“So…” She looked at me with a pleading glint in her eyes.

I arched my brow. “So?”

“Who’s the lucky gal?” she asked, anticipation lacing her words. “Do I know them? Does she know me?”

“Not saying,” I mumbled, my cheeks turning scarlet. There’s no fucking way I’m telling her. Sorry, but if she ever found out I had a crush on her...God, I’d fucking die. 

“Can you at least tell me what she’s like?” she pleaded with adorable puppy-dog eyes and a pout. “Pwease?”

As much as I hate that baby-like voice, she looked too cute for me to say no. 

“Fine,” I sighed out, rolling my eyes. “She’s...she’s really pretty, smart too. She’s got these beautiful ocean-blue eyes that I could just drown in. Her laugh is pretty amazing too. She’s got this adorable snort that I could honestly could listen to all day long.” I paused, wondering what else I could say. “I love everything about her. I love how she can’t seem to spell ‘restaurant’ for the life of her and only eats the cream in Oreos, I love the way she dances and sings poorly to her favorite songs and always writes the letter ‘i’ with a smiley face for a dot, I love when she involuntarily scrunches her nose when she sees a spider and sends me random texts with pictures of how she’s feeling and what she’s doing at the time...just, everything.” 

She probably knew I was talking about her, but I didn’t really care that much. I don’t want to hide these feelings forever, and I was gonna tell her eventually anyway. 

“Well,” she began, rubbing the side of her arm, “she sounds amazing.”

“She is.” How did she not realize that it’s her? 

“I hope you two end up together!” she rooted, wishing the best of luck to me. 

“Yeah, me too…” There it was again, that feeling that her words and smile weren’t what she was actually thinking. Maybe it’s not all in my head…?

“Anyway, uh, since we’re here, why don’t we look around and see what we should get?” she proposed with a feeble smile. 

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I answered. Is she alright? I can’t help but feel like there’s something off with her…

“Oh my god, look at those bears!” She pointed, twinkling at the large stuffed bears. Maybe I’m just overthinking it…

.

.

.

Once lunch was over, we went on with our day, playing more games and going on some rides- I didn’t puke this time, thank fucking god -and before we knew it, the day was over. It was around 6 pm, and nightfall was coming. 

“That was fun!” she exclaimed with delight, a yawn following her words. 

“Yeah, it was,” I agreed, yawning after her. “We’re still leaving behind those prizes we won though, right?”

“Yeah, we are,” she confirmed as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Since neither of us drove here, it’d be kinda awkward to have to carry them.”

“That’s true. It was fun getting all those prizes though.”

“Yeah, it was. We should do it again sometime!” she propounded, already pumped for the next time we’d go out even though I hadn’t agreed to it yet; well, lucky for her, I was already going to.

“Sure,” I said with a giggle, the corners of my lips forming a small smile. 

“Oh, there’s this ice cream place nearby, you wanna get some?” she asked, cocking her head to the direction of the ice cream parlor. 

I really don’t understand how she still has this much energy left. But even though I was completely fucking drained, I nodded, not wanting to end this little ‘date’. Heh, I wish it were one. 

“Yay!” She beamed with her hands in the air. “Ah, we can go right after I go to the bathroom, alright?”

I nodded, and we walked back in. The line to the bathroom seemed pretty long, so it seems like I’ll be waiting here for a while…Hm?

On my right was another game stand, but it wasn’t the game that caught my eye, it was one of the prizes. One of them was a little light-pink bunny with red eyes and wings, a magenta nose in the shape of a circle, fangs, and a black bow tied around its neck. A vampire-bunny...wow, that’s...kind of a weird stuffed animal to have as a prize...She might like it though...

.

.

.

“Sorry for the wait!” she apologized as she ran towards me. “The line was really long, like really– huh?”

Something distracted her from finishing her sentence, and I’m guessing that ‘something’ is this hideous doll in my arms. 

“What...is that?” she asked while pointing at this monstrosity. 

I took a deep breath. I can do this. I handed the vampire-bunny to her, rubbing my nape as my cheeks turned warm with a crimson hue. 

“It’s...it’s for you,” I mumbled, glancing at her for only a second before looking away, my face turning three shades redder. 

“F-for me?” she echoed with disbelief, a finger pointing at herself to make sure she heard me right. 

“Y-yeah,” I confirmed, sneaking another peek. “I thought you might like it since you really like collecting weird and ugly things that most people wouldn’t like. Like those sunglasses you got a few weeks ago, they looked awful, and that was the reason you got them. So I thought that you might like this because of that…”

She didn’t reply. I finally mustered up the courage to look at her, only to find her too stunned to speak. Fuck, does she not like it?

“It’s fine if you don’t like it, I can just give it back or something,” I rambled, probably sounding like a complete idiot. “I can probably just give it away or something, it’s totally fine–”

“I love it!” She was bubbling joy as she gave the vampire-bunny a tight squeeze, holding it close to her chest. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

My heart began to race once more, and I couldn’t help but feel all giddy inside. I made her this happy, I was the one who got her to smile so widely, it was me. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it so, so, so much!” She gave it another squeeze and lifted it up in the air like a dad with his kid, admiring the stuffed bunny.

I softly giggled at how much she resembled a little kid on Christmas Day getting exactly what they wished for from Santa. She’s happy, and it’s because of me. 

“I’m glad you love it,” I corrected myself from before with a chuckle.

“I do, I love it a lot, especially since you were the one who gave me it!” 

Huh? She...she likes– no, loves it that much because I was the one who gave it to her? I watched as she realized what she had just said, heat rising to her cheeks, a deep red painting her face. 

“U-uh, that’s, that’s not what I meant– I mean, it is, but, uh..” She was a fumbling mess, and just like everything she does, I found it adorable.

“Oh, uh, why don’t we go and get some ice cream now?” She added an awkward chuckle and grabbed my hand, dragging me to where the ice cream parlor was. I giggled at how flustered she was but decided to leave it at that. I watched as she clutched onto the vampire-bunny tightly to her chest. Was she only doing that because she loved it that much or because I was the one who gave it to her? Maybe it’s both; she loves it that much because I gave it to her. 

.

.

.

After a short walk, we arrived at the ice cream shop, a few people in line. While we stood in line, we checked out the menu. 

“I think I’m just gonna get a chocolate,” I decided. “What about you?”

“I’m gonna get the cotton-candy, it looks really good.”

“Alright.” 

Once we ordered and paid, we decided to head to a nearby park to enjoy our delicious delights. We talked and we laughed, our laughs filling the empty park air. 

“That’s what I’m saying!” She broke out in a fit of laughter before taking a lick of her pink and blue ice cream. “I mean, how stupid do you– oh, you’ve got some ice cream on your face.”

I wiped the left side of my mouth, assuming that was where it was. “Did I get it?”

“Uh, well, some of it.”

I wiped the other side of my mouth. “How about now?”

“No, there’s still some left,” she replied, shaking her head and grabbing a napkin. “Here, let me do it.” 

She leaned in close to me, our faces inches apart as she wiped away the ice cream on my face. I watched as she inched closer to me, ridding my face of the sticky, sweet dessert. God, she’s...really close...Lips slightly parted, her oh-so-kissable lips were tinted light red and smelled like strawberries. I wonder if they taste like them too…

“There, done!” she declared, throwing the napkin away at the trash can beside her. “I don’t know how you managed to eat so messily– Mmp!”

I placed my lips onto hers, my ice cream forgotten after finding myself a new, sweet treat to indulge myself in. A thin layer of cotton-candy with a hint of strawberry coated her lips, but that wasn’t what made her so delicious-tasting. I liked it because it was her, I liked it...because I love her. 

I broke away from the kiss, panting heavily with lust-laced eyes and slight swollen lips. She was just the same, out of breath and staring up at me with a lustful look, almost begging me for more– Ah. I just realized...I kissed her.

“I’m sorry!” I blurted out, backing away immediately. “I didn’t mean to– I mean, I did, sort of, but I didn’t ask you for permission, which was wrong of me, I’m sorry, I’m really, really sorry– Mmp!”

Feeling her lips on mine once more, her tongue gently nudged my lips, and I knew what she was asking for, so I complied. God, it was even better than the last kiss. 

Tongues tangoing and hands wandering, my hands snaked around her waist as I hoisted her up onto my lap while her arms wrapped around my neck without the kiss being interrupted. Eager and enthusiastic, her hands ran through my hair as her tongue explored my mouth, sending a jolt of pleasure down my spine. 

Out of breath once more, the kiss ended, my forehead pressed against hers as I gazed into her hungry eyes, desire glazed over her eyes. 

“I like you,” I breathed out, still staring into her eyes. “Actually, scratch that, I love you.”

She chuckled softly and pressed a quick peck on my forehead. “I love you too.”

Moving my head away, I couldn’t believe that she felt the same. “Wait, really?”

“Yes?” she answered, confused by my reaction. “I just made out with you, what makes you think I don’t?”

“I don’t know, why didn’t you realize I was talking about you when you asked me to describe my crush?”

“Because I didn’t think that someone like you could ever like someone like me!” she explained, still situated on my lap.

“Exactly– Wait, what?” I was confused again. “What do you mean ‘someone like you’?”

“Well, I don’t know, you’re just really cute and amazing, and I didn’t think that someone as perfect as you could fall for someone like me!”

“But you’re the really cute and amazing and perfect one, not me!”

“Are you kidding me, you’re literally a fucking angel!” she rebutted, crossing her arms.

“Says you, have you seen yourself?! Not only do you have the looks of a fucking goddess, you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met!” I crossed my arms as well, offended that she could ever think that she was anything less than perfect. 

“Wait, really?” Instead of sending another rebuttal my way, she was taken aback, her cheeks outlined red. “Do you really mean all that?”

“Yeah…” I blushed along with her, embarrassed by my sudden confession. “I meant every word I said.” 

“O-oh…” Cheeks turning even redder than before, her eyes averted my gaze, gnawing at her lower lip. “I’m glad...”

I giggled softly at how flustered she was. Tucking her hair behind her ear, I pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

“I love you,” I repeated, planting another quick kiss on her lips. 

“I love you too,” she whispered, still a bit flustered from before. 

“Um, will you,” I began, rubbing my nape, “will you be my girlfriend?”

With a warm smile, her lips found their place on mine once more. “I’d love to.”

“Good,” I said with a chuckle. 

“Good.”

A blanket of silence covered us, but neither of us minded. It was comfortable. It was kind of like we were silently telling each other how much we loved each other. Maybe I’m reading into it too much and she might actually just don’t know what to say, but one thing I’m sure of is that when I go to bed tonight, I no longer have to wish for those scenes that replay in my mind to become my reality; it’ll already be my reality. 

Being here is like

Maybe the sky won’t fall or

May be I won’t mind

* * * * *

#haiku #poetry

National Scotch Day

National Love Is Kind Day

Take Your Pants For A Walk Day

Take Your Houseplants For A Walk Day

Walk On Stilts Day

Hmmm … there is a theme here. Anyone have a clue?

Take Your Houseplants For A Walk Day

Are thinking about houseplants right now? Are you giving all of your attention to your outdoor vegetable garden, and to your flower beds. If you stop and think about it, you might not have given those beautiful, indoor plants any time or attention in quite a while. Chances are those indoor plants are feeling a little neglected.

Like other houseplant owners, I'm sure you want to provide your houseplants with the very best plant care. Here's an opportunity for you to bond with your houseplants.

Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day is a great day for you and your house plants to get some exercise. It will be good for them. It will allow you to bond with your plants, helping them to reach their maximum potential. Along the way, you can get your houseplant accustomed to your neighborhood.

If your plant is too big to carry, you can walk them in a stroller. They will love the ride.

Bonding with your plants helps them to be the very best plants that they can be. In addition to taking them for a walk, to can bond with your houseplants by talking to them, or playing encouraging music.

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth,

faithfulness is the greatest relationship."—Buddha

Walk On Stilts Day

If ever there was a day to stand tall amidst your peers, today is the day to do so.

With a pair of stilts and a little practice, you can be a full participant in this tall day. Considered a hobby or a sport, stilt walking takes skill and practice. While stilt walking is not for everyone, chances are you've been on them at least once when you were a kid. If that was a long time ago, don't worry. Stilt walking is like riding a bike, once you've learned it, you never forget. If you've never been on a pair of stilts, you had a sheltered childhood.

Stilts have a long and lofty history. Stilts were first used in the sixth century B.C. in ancient Greece. Stilts have been used for a wide variety of applications. In ancient times, shepherds would mount the stilts to get a bird's eye view, as they watched over their sheep. Got a tall fruit tree? Stilts have been used in the harvest. The drywall and construction industry uses them today, to reach high places. Stilts were used in jousting contests, too. We see stilts most often used for entertainment at the circus, in theaters, at parades and at many street events. Circus clowns, jugglers, and entertainers all use stilts. There are many career professional stilt walkers among us.

Stand out in a crowd by hopping onto a pair of stilts. If you are about to mount stilts for the first time, begin with a pair that is short... low to the ground. Once you've mastered your first pair of stilts, you can easily graduate to taller and taller ones. Looking for stilts to get started? You might not find them at a toy or hobby store. But, they are easy to acquire online.

For the Record: According to Guinness World Book of Records, the world's tallest stilt was 53' 10" (16.41 m). The record was set on November 15, 2006, by Saimaiti Yiming of Xinjiang, China. Yiming took ten steps on the stilts without a safety net. In case you didn't know, a stilt is measured from the ground to the ankle.

"You can make more friends in two months by being interested in other people, than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you."—Dale Carnegie

Take Your Pants For A Walk Day

Take Your Pants for a Walk Day is a great day to get some exercise. This day is well noted on the internet for Ecard and calendar websites. So, I'm sure your planning to celebrate this day in a big, big way.

It’s an easy day to celebrate. Simply go for a walk. Unless you are wearing a dress or a skirt, you probably are wearing pants. So, by definition, as you walk, they come along.

Give your pants some exercise. After all, they are looking a little tight around the middle. The walk will do them good.

A guy took his blonde girlfriend to the Super Bowl game.

They had great seats right behind their teams bench.

After the game. the guy asked his girlfriend how she liked the experience.

“Oh, I really liked it!” she replied, “Especially the tight pants and all the big muscles,

but I couldn’t understand why they were killing each other over 25 cents.”

Dumbfounded, her boyfriend asked, “What do you mean?”

She said, “Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game,

all they kept screaming was, ’Get the quarter back! Get the quarter back!”

More Strange Holidays Coming!

Salty and awash in butter, popcorn

goes from bucket to tongue in the glowing dark

of the theater. My mind focused on the film

as I try to sip Coke and discern inscrutable wisdom

at the same time—or perhaps just watch explosions.

I sit in homage to the filmmaker’s art.

It’s true, not all movies aim to be art—

There’s the summer flicks aiming at popcorn

sales; the movies with fewer words than explosions;

teen comedies reallymade for an excuse to be in the dark

with a date, because conventional wisdom

holds that drive-ins aren’t actually about the film.

I do have fond memories of those films.

We don’t always want capital “A” art.

Sometimes we want to fling away wisdom

and just sit down with some friends, drinks, popcorn,

and see James Bond dodge explosions,

or watch mutant sheep prey on farmers in the dark.

Ultimately, those innumerable hours spent in the dark

watching the good, the bad, and the ugly of films

did a lot more for me than kill time with explosions,

laughter, or explosion-inspired laughter. They taught me what art

can be, for all people. For Roger Ebert and the popcorn

chewers, for the gulpers-down of laughter and the devotees of wisdom.

And films can bring wisdom,

carrying us forward from the dark

to illumination in moments when the popcorn

rests, forgotten, in the bowl. All those films

that molded me, revealed to my nascent mind the nature, the art,

the exultation and sadness of humanity, entered my world as explosions.

Occasionally, violent. Often shaking. Explosions

opening passages as TNT and making wisdom

where before unconnected tracks butted mountains. The art

that Coppola and Kubrick brought to the dark

of the cinema, or that my first favorite film

brought to my VCR as I, unanticipating, munched popcorn.

It’s funny how popcorn and art

can complement each other, how films in the dark

can have so much wisdom—and really cool explosions.